Nutanix Content Hub ‘The Forecast’ Wins Awards On Massive Growth

I hear it all the time: there’s so much noise out there. How could we ever break through?

And yet there are some amazing examples of businesses that are achieving massive growth in new website visitors through consistent editorial content and strategic thought leadership.

Quality news, information, and stories will always attract an audience. Even in today’s competitive landscape. Read on to hear how one business is seeing massive growth, winning awards, and gaining ground in the highly competitive technology industry.

An Introduction to The Forecast by Nutanix

Change and uncertainty are certainly keeping us on our toes. The disruption we feel prods us to hunt for insights and information that help us seize the day and get a grip on the future.

That’s why Nutanix created The Forecast in 2019 to share news covering cloud computing, the latest technology trends and the impact of technology on our people and business.

As mainstream media continues to shrink and tech press primarily focuses on the biggest companies, Nutanix needed to find ways to effectively raise its profile in order to remain successful in a highly competitive and transformative industry, according to Jennifer Massaro, senior director of Public Relations and executive director of The Forecast.

“There are so many great stories to tell from the intersection of technology innovation and human experience,” said Massaro. “The Forecast gives us an authentic way to chronicle the times, define trends, and interview leaders and change-makers across different industries.”

Ken Kaplan, Editor-in-Chief of The Forecast, focuses on topics of interest to IT influencers, company investors, tech decision-makers and people forging a career in IT.

“The Forecast reports on digital transformation and the people who are using modern technologies to change our world,” said Kaplan. “In particular, we want to inform readers and help them overcome fears or apprehension about cloud computing’s massive impact on businesses, industries, governments and our daily lives. Understanding why these technologies exist and how they work can help leaders build a better future.”

This site utilizes editorial best practices to engage readers and sets itself apart through authentic, journalistic storytelling, by taking an industry insider’s perspective, profiling innovative people, sharing thought leadership insights, and reporting on trends sparked by the enterprise cloud revolution and digital transformation.

The Forecast creates and grows a measurable audience using organic search engine optimization, social distribution, newsletters, paid (native) media and free subscriptions.

The Forecast aims to raise awareness about the Nutanix brand and to reach existing and new audiences beyond traditional PR and demand-generation marketing efforts.

Additionally, The Forecast is allowing Nutanix to optimize digital marketing efforts (leads) by re-targeting demand generation offers to Forecast site visitors.

The initial idea and business direction for an editorial-driven news site came from Nutanix CMO Ben Gibson, VP of Corporate Comms Tonya Chin and Massaro. Kaplan led the design and created an editorial strategy for the news site, which launched in May of 2019.

The Forecast Delivers Business Growth

Over the past four quarters, The Forecast attracted nearly 200,000 unique visitors, over 365,000 page views (137% YoY) and more than 1,100 weekly newsletter subscribers (332% YoY).

Organic search has grown from 14 to 19%, which means readers seek and find Forecast content. Overall organic readership is nearly 35%. More than 360,000 Tech Barometer podcast segments (iTunes, SoundCloud, Spotify) have been downloaded so far (200% YoY). The site publishes 3 to 5 new stories a week, and shares those stories on Nutanix social channels and a weekly newsletter.

While there is an element of paid content promotion, organic search traffic on the site has grown exponentially.

Source: SEMRush

And the site is earning rankings on important keywords. The Forecast ranks in the top 3 for 141 keywords, on the first page for 257 keywords, and in the top 100 for 5,675 keywords. All from a site that didn’t exist 18 months ago!

Source: SEMRush

In fact, The Forecast is the fastest-growing content marketing platform I have ever worked on. It is attracting engaged audiences through a strong editorial focus on thought leadership.

In May, 2019, we worked with the Nutanix team to build out a content marketing strategy, a practical roadmap to success, including weekly content and paid content promotion that is currently seeing 80% lower CPC (Cost-per-clicks) and more than 300% higher CTR (click-through-rate) than their industry average.

The Forecast Gains Industry Recognition

Because of this growth, I submitted The Forecast for several awards this summer. This resulted in The Forecast being named 2020 Content Marketing Award finalist for Best Overall Editorial, Best B2B Branded Content and Best New Digital Publication.

These brought the total number of industry honors to seven, including Bulldog Reporter, Regan PR and twice a PR News Award finalist.

And it is getting attention both inside and outside the company. It is helping Nutanix raise its profile among industry influencers and beyond.

Nutanix CEO and founder Dheeraj Pandey and CMO Ben Gibson are actively engaged in the site’s content. They connect the Editor-in-Chief, Ken Kaplan with executives and experts from both the company and externally.

Nutanix executives advocate participation, and this access allows The Forecast to turn thought leadership into compelling articles. Ken has been invited to share these experiences with content experts, on industry panels, and in social channel conversations.

Profiling Technology Leaders

Just since the COVID-19 pandemic, The Forecast has interviewed hundreds of Nutanix customers, partners and industry leaders to report on how cloud technologies help them adapt to remote working, modernize their IT operations or lay the foundation for a hybrid cloud future.

Articles, podcasts and videos offer insights about IT innovations in different industries, including education, healthcare, financial services, food and retail, The site also shows how tech innovation is impacting IT careers.

For the year ahead, the site will publish at least two dozen customer or partner-related articles and podcasts. These kinds of stories, along with technology explainers, business and tech trend stories help readers sharpen their focus on the future.

“We’re thrilled to see The Forecast grow and be recognized for the groundbreaking work we’re doing,” said Massaro. “It’s a valuable service to the IIT industry and a bright feather in our Nutanix cap.”

The Forecast aims to raise awareness about the Nutanix brand and to reach existing and new audiences beyond traditional PR and demand-generation marketing efforts. The news site also brings new audiences to marketing campaigns and demand generation material by including ads and links in articles.

“The key to success is high-quality storytelling that hits the interest of IT decision-makers, tech enthusiasts and influencers,” said Massaro. “We’ve built an engaging site and now we’re determined to grow by leveraging our audience insights, journalistic instincts and powerful publishing platform.”

Receive a weekly dispatch from The Forecast by subscribing here.

 

And if you are ready to get more traffic to YOUR site with quality content that’s published consistently, check out our Content Builder Service. Set up a quick consultation, and I’ll send you a free PDF version of my books. Get started today–and generate more traffic and leads for your business!

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